# [Question] How to force relative path output when using `git status --porcelain=2 -z` 3 messages from 2024-11-05 to 2024-11-06. Participants: 叶志晟, Junio C Hamano. Thread: https://gitlist.dev/t/62453 ## 叶志晟, 2024-11-05 16:59 Subject: [Question] How to force relative path output when using `git status --porcelain=2 -z` Message-ID: URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/CAH1CY-%3DFtMTSisCmcz7ovciPomXYBogjNCmqO1mEjN9H6zEfgQ%40mail.gmail.com ``` Hi all, I am experiencing a problem when parsing the results of `git status`. My primary goal is to parse the output of `git status` programmatically, so I am trying to parse the result of `git status --porcelain=2 -z`. According to the docs [here](https://git-scm.com/docs/git-status), the `-z` option only changes the entry terminations and implies the `--porcelain=v1` output format if no other format is given. However, the result shows that the path returned is a relative path to the repo root rather than the current directory when using `-z`. Simply using `git status --porcelain=2` returns the relative path to the current directory. I am wondering how to force the path to be relative to the current directory (for easier cutting and pasting) rather than the repo root when using `git status --porcelain=2 -z`. I would really appreciate it if you could help me! Regards, Zhisheng ``` ## Junio C Hamano, 2024-11-06 00:59 Subject: Re: [Question] How to force relative path output when using `git status --porcelain=2 -z` Message-ID: URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/xmqqses5qis5.fsf%40gitster.g In-Reply-To: ``` 叶志晟 writes: > I am experiencing a problem when parsing the results of `git status`. > My primary goal is to parse the output of `git status` > programmatically, so I am trying to parse the result of `git status > --porcelain=2 -z`. Interesting finding. Here is what I tried in my working tree, where I have a few cruft files left at the top, and ran these commands inside the 't/' subdirectory: $ git status --porcelain=1 ?? +ps8-v2-reftable-iterator-reuse ?? :runme.sh : git t/master; git status --porcelain=2 ? ../+ps8-v2-reftable-iterator-reuse ? ../:runme.sh : git t/master; git status --porcelain=1 -z | tr '\0' '\n' ?? +ps8-v2-reftable-iterator-reuse ?? :runme.sh : git t/master; git status --porcelain=2 -z | tr '\0' '\n' ? +ps8-v2-reftable-iterator-reuse ? :runme.sh I haven't dug into the history to see if these inconsistencies in behaviour are deliberate, but I somehow suspect that the output from "--porcelain=2" without "-z" is mistaken. As the porcelain output is designed to be machine parseable with or without "-z" (and the reader of the output, the implementation of a Porcelain command, is responsible for turning it into relative if it prefers), it would be a mistake to turn relative output on based on the lack of "-z". Not that we can "fix" the output from "--porcelain=2" at this point. To changge them to uniformly show absolute (or relative for that matter), we'd need "--porcelain=3" to preserve these inconsistency output because it is very certain that existing users and scripts already rely on it. Thanks. ``` ## 叶志晟, 2024-11-06 05:07 Subject: Re: [Question] How to force relative path output when using `git status --porcelain=2 -z` Message-ID: URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/CAH1CY-kD1MhuuVW8UqkJeiFZkgv2zDBXb1u6q3DLNbUs4R6zXg%40mail.gmail.com In-Reply-To: ``` Hi Junio, Thank you for the quick response! That is exactly what I have encountered. I understand that it is highly probable that the result of `git status --porcelain=2` is unexpected, and it may not be fixed due to consistency. Thanks a lot! Junio C Hamano 于2024年11月6日周三 08:59写道： > > 叶志晟 writes: > > > I am experiencing a problem when parsing the results of `git status`. > > My primary goal is to parse the output of `git status` > > programmatically, so I am trying to parse the result of `git status > > --porcelain=2 -z`. > > Interesting finding. Here is what I tried in my working tree, where > I have a few cruft files left at the top, and ran these commands > inside the 't/' subdirectory: > > $ git status --porcelain=1 > ?? +ps8-v2-reftable-iterator-reuse > ?? :runme.sh > : git t/master; git status --porcelain=2 > ? ../+ps8-v2-reftable-iterator-reuse > ? ../:runme.sh > : git t/master; git status --porcelain=1 -z | tr '\0' '\n' > ?? +ps8-v2-reftable-iterator-reuse > ?? :runme.sh > : git t/master; git status --porcelain=2 -z | tr '\0' '\n' > ? +ps8-v2-reftable-iterator-reuse > ? :runme.sh > > I haven't dug into the history to see if these inconsistencies in > behaviour are deliberate, but I somehow suspect that the output from > "--porcelain=2" without "-z" is mistaken. As the porcelain output > is designed to be machine parseable with or without "-z" (and the > reader of the output, the implementation of a Porcelain command, is > responsible for turning it into relative if it prefers), it would be > a mistake to turn relative output on based on the lack of "-z". > > Not that we can "fix" the output from "--porcelain=2" at this point. > To changge them to uniformly show absolute (or relative for that > matter), we'd need "--porcelain=3" to preserve these inconsistency > output because it is very certain that existing users and scripts > already rely on it. > > Thanks. -- 志晟 叶 yezhisheng.com.cn ```